1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: The Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: a show that raises the curtain on everyday history and 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: lets it take about I'm Gay Bluzier And in this 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: episode we're talking about the time when a group of 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: posh cynics played a prank on the general public by 7 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: selling them tickets to a non existent show. The day 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:39,639 Speaker 1: was January sixteenth, seventeen forty nine. An angry crowd destroyed 9 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: a London theater after a performer known as the Bottle 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: Conjurer failed to make his scheduled appearance. Ticket Holders had 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: waited for hours in the Haymarket theater, staring at a 12 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: stage with nothing on it except for a small table 13 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: adorned with an empty wine bottle. They had been promised 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: an evening of magic, with the most enticing feet being 15 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: the one where the performer pledged to jump inside an 16 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 1: ordinary bottle. But more than an hour after the scheduled showtime, 17 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: the Bottle Conjurer hadn't shown up. With the crowd growing restless, 18 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: the theater manager finally decided to call off the show 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: and began offering full refunds. However, rather than take their 20 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: money and go. Some in the crowd began to vent 21 00:01:24,319 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: their frustration on the theater itself. They tore it apart 22 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: piece by piece, then piled the debris in the middle 23 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: of the street and set it on fire. In the 24 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: aftermath of that riot, many questions remained unanswered. What happened 25 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: to the bottle Conjurer, Did he ever exist in the 26 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: first place, and if not, who invented him and why. 27 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,200 Speaker 1: The initial theory was the theater manager Samuel Foote and 28 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: theater owner John Potter had perpetrated the hoax as a 29 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: way to boost ticket sales. However, as Potter pointed out, 30 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: he had fully intended to refund all the tickets sold 31 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: until the riot broke out and all the evening's profits disappeared. 32 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: As for the identity of the bottle Conjurer, neither man 33 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: had ever met him before, his promoter had made all 34 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: the arrangements to rent the theater in advance, and neither 35 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: foot nor Potter had ever seen him before or since. 36 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: The mystery. Promoter also placed an ad for the show 37 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: in London newspapers, promising an evening of entertainment unlike any other. First. 38 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: The ad read, he takes a common walking cane from 39 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,640 Speaker 1: any of the spectators, and thereon plays the music of 40 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: every instrument now in use, and likewise sings to surprising perfections. Secondly, 41 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: he presents you with a common wine bottle, which any 42 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: of the spectators may first examine. This bottle is placed 43 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: on a table in the middle of the stage, and he, 44 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: without any equivocation, goes into it in sight of all 45 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: the spectators and sings in it. During his stay in 46 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,119 Speaker 1: the bottle, any person may handle it and see plainly 47 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: that it does not exceed a common tavern bottle. That 48 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: alone would probably be enough to hook most people, but 49 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: just to make sure, the ad went on to promise 50 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: that the conjurer would literally raise the dead for an 51 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: additional fee. Of course, as the ad put it, quote, 52 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,400 Speaker 1: anyone desirous of seeing a representation of any deceased person, 53 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: such as husband or wife, sister or brother, or any 54 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: intimate friend of either sex, shall be gratified by seeing 55 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: and conversing with them for some minutes, as if alive, 56 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: upon making a gratuity to the performer. The entertainment on 57 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: offer had always seemed too good to be true, but 58 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: on the evening of January sixteen, people swarmed to the 59 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: Haymarket Theater anyway, willing to gamble on a chance to 60 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: witness the impossible. The sold out show a tract did 61 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: all levels of society too, including royalty. Prince William, the 62 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: Duke of Cumberland was said to be in attendance that 63 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: night and later lost his jeweled sword while trying to 64 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: make a hasty exit. Once inside the theater, the anxious 65 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: crowd had nothing to do but wait, and wait and wait. 66 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: The six thirties showtime came and went with no sign 67 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: of the performer, and as the minutes turned to ours, 68 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: the mood of the crowd began to sour. The ip 69 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: Switch Journal later described the scene saying, quote, without so 70 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: much as a single fiddle to keep the audience in 71 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: good humor, many grew impatient. Immediately following a chorus of 72 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: cat calls, heightened by loud vociferations, came beating with sticks. 73 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: At that point, Samuel Foote took the stage to try 74 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: and soothe the crowd. They demanded refunds, which the manager 75 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 1: agreed to, but before any money could be paid out, 76 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: some in the crowd turned violent. It's unclear how the 77 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: fighting started, but the tipping point seems to have been 78 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: someone yelling out that if anyone was willing to pay 79 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: him double, he would outdo the conjurer by stuffing himself 80 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: into a pint bottle. Everyone had a good laugh, but 81 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: then someone threw a lit candle onto the stage and 82 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: chaos ensued. Most of the audience headed straight for the exit, 83 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: but some stayed inside to wreck the place. According to 84 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: one famous account of the era quote, they tore up 85 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: the benches, broke to pieces the scenes, pulled down the boxes. 86 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: In short dismantled the theater entirely, carrying away the particulars 87 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: above mentioned into the street, where they made a mighty bonfire. 88 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: The curtain was raised on a pole as if it 89 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: were a flag. In all the confusion, the box office 90 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: receipts went missing. Maybe the money was carried off, or 91 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: maybe it was burned by mistake. The one thing that's 92 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 1: clear is that neither the theater nor the ticket holders 93 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,480 Speaker 1: got their money back. Amazingly, only one minor injury was reported, 94 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: and by morning the bonfire had been extinguished and the 95 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: crowd had dispersed peacefully. The instigators and those who took 96 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: part in the riot were never identified. In the days 97 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: and weeks that followed, rumors swirled about what had really 98 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: happened that night. Many parodies and satires were written about 99 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: the event as well, adding further confusion to the historical record. 100 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: The general consensus, though then and now, is that someone 101 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: set out to make fools of the audience on purpose. 102 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,479 Speaker 1: They advertised a made up performance that no sensible person 103 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,760 Speaker 1: would believe possible, and then presumably had a good laugh 104 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: at the gullible rubes who showed up to see it. 105 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: The fact that it all turned so ugly was probably 106 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: icing on the cake for whoever was responsible for the hoax. 107 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: It wasn't until more than two decades later that the 108 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: truth behind the ruse finally leaked out. The idea had 109 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: been hatched in early January of seventeen forty nine, shortly 110 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: before the over the Top ad first appeared in the paper. 111 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: A group of English nobles were gathered in London, and 112 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: somehow they got on the subject of human gullibility. Among 113 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: those in attendance were the Earl of Chesterfield and the 114 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:24,120 Speaker 1: second Duke of Montague, John Montague. Some sources say it 115 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: was actually the Duke of Portland instead of Montague, although 116 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: it's possible both men were there, it would make more 117 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: sense for John Montague to be behind the prank, though, 118 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: as he was a notorious practical joker. According to his 119 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: mother in law quote, all his talents lie in things 120 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: only natural in boys of fifteen years old, and he 121 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: is about two in fifty, to get people into his 122 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:50,119 Speaker 1: garden and wet them with squirts, and to invite people 123 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: to his country houses and put things in beds to 124 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: make them itch, and twenty such pretty fancies as these 125 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: in either case. One of the dukes reportedly made a 126 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,320 Speaker 1: wager with the Earl of Chesterfield to gauge just how 127 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: gullible the public really was. He bet that even if 128 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: they advertised the most impossible thing in the world, they 129 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: would still find enough paying customers to fill a London playhouse. 130 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: The Earl was unconvinced. He wagered that if someone said 131 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: they could jump inside a bottle, that would surely be 132 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: too ridiculous for anyone to believe. The Duke admitted that 133 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: did sound pretty dumb, but he still thought the London 134 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,679 Speaker 1: populace was gullible enough to fall for it. The rest 135 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: of the group thought it would be a laugh to 136 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: find out which man was right, so they sat down 137 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: together and wrote up the most outlandish ad they could. 138 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: In the end, the Duke won the bed, proving that 139 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: the public was just as gullible as he had suspected. 140 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: For decades afterward, any performer who overpromised and underdelivered was 141 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,720 Speaker 1: referred to as a bottle conjurer. Additionally, the event itself 142 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,319 Speaker 1: became a symbol us of the naivete of eighteenth century 143 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: Londoners and of the general danger of unchecked curiosity. Today, 144 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: the ordeal still stands as a darkly comic reminder that 145 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:14,840 Speaker 1: if something sounds too good to be true, there's a 146 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: good chance it is. I'm Gay Blusier and hopefully you 147 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 148 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: did yesterday. You can learn even more about history by 149 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d 150 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: i HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 151 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way at this day 152 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 153 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:47,439 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 154 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another day in 155 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:51,319 Speaker 1: History Class.